Classical Journalism as profession with discernible and identifiable ethics is all gone. We are left with only individuals having professional access to public media calling themselves journalists. They are no more bound by those values for which journalism was once a profession independent of national, racial and religious affiliations.
The most important training a journalist must learn to possess is the neutrality particularly when reporting on a conflicts, social, religious or economical, where only NEWS should outflow not the running commentary colored with personal biases and instinctual national or ethical prejudices.
US lost Vietnam war not because it fell weaker against locals but because of strong US media which reported atrocities of US forces and uselessness of war. They were never called antinational. Some were even honoured. Let consumers of the news judge. Independent doesn’t mean no scope for errors or intrusion of bias. It must not be part of a policy. Contrast this with policy driven biased, sold out news houses in India which are spewing venom everyday as policy of management and politico-business exigencies.
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